Mother's Day- A day I did not know if I would be blessed in celebrating again

 Mimi, this picture brings so much joy and happiness to me because God has given the another Mother's Day with you.  I pray your day has been filled with the love of your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. You are truly loved.

As Mamma Kim wrapped Mimi's gifts this morning, Makenna said she needed something to chew on so she got Mimi's card and started chewing on it.  Before anyone could get it away from her she had taken a bite out of the card.  We still do not know why she needed something to chew on. 

Mimi promised Makenna she could open the presents.  Even though they were not taped super well, Makenna decide she need the thing to open the gifts.  No one but Mamma Kim knew what the "thing" was, the letter opener.  I cannot say I have ever seen anyone open a gift with a letter opener until now.  Baby girl, you  definitely have a creative spirit in you.  I pray you never lose that.

 On September 14, 2011, I did not know if Mimi would live through the day much less to see her next Mother's Day.  God chose to allow us to have her for a while longer.  Thank you Lord for that blessing.  May I never take your blessings for granted.  No Mimi is not where she was  before the aneurysm and two brain surgeries but it is ok because we still have her with us in whatever level of recovery she attains. Yes, there are difficult and trying days  when she cannot remember anything or during the times it takes her hours to do a task, however, I am diligently trying to see the blessings in all of this.  After all, nothing takes my Lord by surprise.  There are many lessons to be learned in the valleys of life.  This past year has certainly been one of many valleys and trials but my God has seen me through each one.

 Four Generations

The Big Day January 18

Annacarmie has worked as had as she can all week to get everything ready for the therapists to inspect the house on Friday.  She was able to finish most of the things except four closets.  That is work for another day or numerous days when Mother is there because Mother is afraid we will throw something important away.  Mother is such a pack rat.  Where did all this stuff come from? 

The therapists came to the house while Mother was there to see how Mother functioned.  Things went fairly well.  In the next week and a half we have several things that must be done before Mother comes home permanently.  With the understanding that we will do everything they recommended the inspection will be complete and the house passed inspection for her to be able to come home.

God is good and we are praising His name.  Just a short few months ago we did not know if Mother would ever come home again.  January 18 is the big day and Mother is counting the days.

Day 4

Mother was in pain during the night which elevated BP some. They gave her something for the pain. BP Is now where it should be and she is resting well. This is expected and not uncommon.  6:28am via mobile.

Talked to the dr this morning. He said Mother was doing just as he expected. Days 7-10 are the most critical for brain surgery. Please br praying we do not experience vasospasms. He also cautioned us she may get worse before she gets better. She talked some this morning And opened her eyes but was not as much as at noon and 5:30. Keep praying

 9:53am via mobile.

Update since morning visit they have taken one of the drain tubes out of mother's head. They are trying to get her to drink a drink of water out of a cup.

 12:10pm via mobile.

They had mother sitting up in bed when we visited at 12:30. Her BP and blood sugar are a little elevated but is being controlled very well with small amounts of medicine the nurse said she is taking very little med. That is remarkable. They took one drain tube out this morning .

2:51pm via mobile.

Mother was sleeping during our entire visit. They did give her med for BP while we were in there and it did go down to where it should be. She did respond to some commands. They have bathed her today and changed her bed between 1:15 and the 5:30 visit so I am sure I was really tired. Continue to pray especially days 7-10 tue through Friday that is the critical days.

6:39pm via mobile.

Mother was sleeping during our entire visit. They did give her med for BP while we were in there and it did go down to where it should be. She did respond to some commands. They have bathed her today and changed her bed between 1:15 and the 5:30 visit so I am sure I was really tired. Continue to pray especially days 7-10 tue through  6:39pm via mobile.Mother has not been as awake as much today as yesterday. The only thing she said to me tonight was she wanted to let her arms loose. Her BP and pressure was good. When I talked to the nurse she said mother had been awake before we got in there. She continues to move her legs. Nurse did not try to give her a drink tonight because she was not awake enough.

 10:43pm via mobile.

Day 3

This morning before I visited with Mother the nurse said she tried to get out of the bed, had her eyes open, and was talking. Her pressure on the brain is continuing to decrease which is what they want. This morning it was 7. Her blood pressure is still good. When I went in to visit she would not open her eyes. She said Annacarmie and squeezed my hand. She is continually moving her feet and legs. They are now doing full range of motion PT on her.

 9:34am via mobile.
 
Mother was a little restless tonight but she still knew me. My aunt was pulling the blanket over her and she told her "aggravating me Betty Sue" all vitals were good tonight. Later in the night the nurse is going to sit her up and see how well she drinks water from a cup.

 10:31pm via mobile.

Day 2

I just called the ICU to see how Mother did last night. She is stable and was all night. They had to keep her sedated because she was trying to take the IV out. Continue to pray for her today. I will visit at 8:30 and update again after that visit.

5:41am via mobile.


Got to see Mother this morning. Her arterial blood gases are good so they will be taking breathing tube out before we visit at noon. Her color is good. She is responding to some commands: squeezing hands, shaking her head when ask a question. Very aggravated because she cannot talk through the breathing tube. I felt good after visiting this morning. Now I am waiting to talk to Dr.

 10:03am via mobile.


Just got to visit Mother. She has been off the floor since visitation this morning having a CT scan, trypenin test, and they took the breathing tube out. She was moving a lot which is a good thing according to the nurses. I will know the results from the trypenin test when I visit at 5:30. The CT scan results were just as the Dr expected. She is breathing completely on her own.

1:50pm via mobile.


We in to see Mother a few minutes ago. She stuck her tongue out at me and said Walmart and paper. She is responding to some commands. The trypenin test was within normal range. Will be doing a swallow test tomorrow.

 6:36pm via mobile.


Just visited with Mother. Her pressure is 9 which tells how much swelling she has. They want it to be 20 or less. Nurse was pleased. Tomorrow they will do a swallow test. Her blood pressure has been good all day today. The nurse told me even though she was a very small lady she was strong and a fighter. Praise the Lord she is such a fighter.

 9:53pm via mobile.

Not a day that I expected

This day did start out as I expected.  Annacarmie had taken the kids to MDO at FBC when she got a call from Sharon at the Honda Shop that Mimi had passed out an they were calling the ambulance to come get her.  Annacarmie went to shop and followed the ambulance to the emergency room. She called me and I left Baldwyn going to the hospital not knowing what I was going to find.  I got there Annacarmie was crying uncontrollably.  I finally got her quite long enough to see what was wrong. At this point they had not told us anything except Anacarmie said this is the room they put us in when Papa was here and in May when Stephen was here.  She kept asking if Mimi was going to die also.  I started looking for information then.  After learning she had an aneurysm I knew time was at premium for us.  Daddy had not arrived yet so I told the doctor to get us where we needed to be.  That at first thought was to medi-vac her to Methodist University in Memphis to their brain trauma unit.    I told the doctor to get it done so we could get there. They could not send her in a helicopter because of weather; therefore, we left in an ambulance going to Memphis.  I had not idea if Mother would even make it to Memphis.  I did what i always do in times like this, I began praying and called my friends to get them to pray also.  We arrived and they escorted us through the ER into the angio lab to access the situation.  Dr. Arthur came in and talked to us giving us all the details of surgery, what to expect, and the dangers associated.  I knew all those but felt it was our only option so I signed all the consent forms and she went directly into surgery.

First, Dr. Arthur wanted to try putting a stint in; however, the vessel was too small, the stint would not hold.  For that reason he had to do brain surgery.  The surgery lasted about 4.5 hours.  After the surgery was over Dr. Arthur came back down to get consent to do another angio to be sure the clamp was in the right place and there was no leaks.  Another 45 minutes later he called back to let us know that the clamp was where it needed to be and we would be able to see her after they got her to neuro ICU and settled down.  The nurse finally called and we were able to see her shortly before going to the hotel for rest, which did not come easily.

For all of you who have been so sweet to call, text, and message on Facebook I wanted to update. Mother is still in surgery. Heard from the operating room, her vitals are stable and surgery is going as planned. Will post updates as I can. Please keep praying!!!



Thank you! She is still in surgery. Vitals are stable and surgery is going as planned.

 7:58pm via mobile.
Just got a call from the Operating room. Mother's vitals are stable and surgery is still in progress.

 8:21pm via mobile.

Just talked to the surgeon. Surgery went as expected. They are doing another angiogram to be sure he clamped the anueryiusm in the right place. That will take about 40 minutes. They are going to leave breathing tube in tonight so she can rest. Dr said she had had a long hard day and he wanted her to rest before taking breathing tube out. Please continue to pray!! She will have a black eye and swelling from the surgery.

 8:48pm via mobile.

Doctor just called. He finished the second angiogram and the clamp us just where it should be. He said she did well but is still critical. They are keeping her sedated all night so she can rest. We are going in to see her in about one hour for a few minutes. Will post after I see her.

9:21pm via mobile.

We had been planning this mini vacation for months. We were so glad to get away for some much needed rest. At the time, I really did not know how much I was going to need the rest. Two days after we returned from the beach, I got a phone call saying Mimi had passed out in the floor at the Honda shop and they were calling the ambulance. That phone call ended in an ambulance ride with Mother to Memphis and two brain surgeries over the next seven weeks. I did not leave the hospital during that entire time. My precious daughter, made my stay possible by keeping everything together at home and running all the businesses. I cannot explain how blessed I am to have a daughter who is willing and able to step up to the plate and take on much more than any one person should have to take on while raising a three year old. I must say she did the job in an exemplary manner. Baby, I am so thankful for you in more ways than I can even begin to list. God truly blessed me when He chose you as my daughter and I thank Him daily for giving you to me.